Atkins Rotherham

Engineering Design Consultants

Atkins - the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
RSS feed

Ram in Position to Lift 800 Tonne Road Bridge

 
   

The Great Wharf Road Bridge, designed to provide a new access for traffic into Canary Wharf in London's Docklands, has taken an important step forward with the installation of the massive hydraulic cylinder that will raise it to allow ships to pass through West India Quay.

Designed and manufactured by Hunger Hydraulic in Germany to a brief from consulting engineers Bennett Associates, the 40-tonne ram is believed to be the biggest installed in the UK. It will lift the north end of the 800 tonne structure 18.2 metres in order to provide a 15 metre x 15 metre navigable passage beneath.

As part of the design process Bennetts were asked to investigate various methods of lifting the 67-metre bridge, including the use of portable equipment stored off site. One of the constraints required no part of the structure to be within the dock itself. The mechanism being installed was chosen because it met this criterion and was also simple and cost-effective, according to project engineer Michael Thorogood.

Bennetts were responsible for the performance and design specifications for the electrical, hydraulic and mechanical equipment required to move the bridge, to accompany the exemplar design drawings used by the contractor for construction detailing. The company also designed the systems for pedestrian and traffic control.

The telescopic ram is a two-stage unit with 800mm and 910mm cylinders inside an outer casing 12.9 metres long x 1.235 metres maximum outer diameter. The ram is powered by three 132kW power packs to produce a maximum operating thrust of 6581kN that will lift the bridge in 555 seconds and lower it in 390 seconds. The bridge will still lift, but more slowly, even if only one of the power packs is operating.

Trunnion bearings at the base of the ram and a pivoting clevis at the top allow the ram to rotate approximately 7º either side of vertical as it raises and lowers the bridge. The whole assembly stands in a reinforced concrete chamber beneath the north abutment, where the master control cabinets will also be located. A slave cabinet in the south abutment will provide control and power to the vehicle and pedestrian barriers, as well as the bridge lighting.

Architects for the project are Wilkinson Eyre, with Gifford and Partners acting as lead consultant and structural engineer.

December 2003

 
   
For more information, contact us on 01709-373782

Related links:
.Bridging Gaps
.East Riding Bridge Swings into Action

M G Bennett and Associates Ltd is now part of the Atkins - the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Group
Atkins - the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
 

Great Wharf Road Bridge hydraulic ram
Great Wharf Road Bridge hydraulic ram

Great Wharf Road Bridge pivoting clevis that connects the hydraulic ram to the bridge deck
Great Wharf Road Bridge pivoting clevis that connects the hydraulic ram to the bridge deck


Media Coverage
Media